by Tom Haase
Bridget quickly glanced at Matt. “This could be my salvation.”
“Not yet, but maybe soon. In the meantime we might again need your help. It has been a long day and we’re all a little tired. Let’s get some sleep and meet in the morning.”
Matt and Bridget went to the hotel Liz arranged for them and the next day they met for breakfast. The four of them were talking all at once to formulate a plan for the day. Matt’s phone rang and he raised his hand for quiet.
Liz told him the latest information on the exchange, and the fact Karim was in Savannah. Matt shared this information with his table mates and waited for their reaction.
“I believe the weapons are already here,” Gerti said.
“That doesn’t seem right to me,” Scott opined.
“Why not?” Bridget asked her brother.
“I don’t believe Alexandro would dally before turning them over. He wouldn’t want to have them in his possession, even for a short time. Besides, we’ve been here for two days and he hasn’t done anything to indicate he has them. No visits to check on any goods, no going to the port, nothing,” Scott said.
“Matt,” Bridget said, “could you call Liz and ask her to check if any cargo is arriving for the Alexandro Import and Export business. That might give us something to go on. He has to have them by tomorrow. Maybe they’re arriving today. After all, this is the third largest port on the East Coast.”
“Good idea,” Matt said. He got up and went outside to call Liz. It would be quieter there and he needed some fresh air.
Liz picked up on the first ring. “Matt, I just started to call you. New information. I haven’t even been to the director. This just happened.”
“Tell me,” Matt said.
“Karim just called Alexandro for the second time. He is demanding he check with his source to see if the FBI might interfere with the arms exchange. He doesn’t want another Roanoke. From the sounds of it, Alexandro seemed confident he could get it.”
45
Washington, D.C.
When Liz returned from the director’s office, she thought, maybe hoped would be a better description, that things would settle down. No such luck. On opening the door, she saw the IT tech beckoning her over, frantically waving his hands. She ran to pick up the headset.
“I don’t give a damn about your concerns. If there was anything to tell you I would’ve called you. I told you never to call this office. Never,” a voice shouted.
“You don’t tell me what to do. I’ll call you anytime I need to. I pay you remember? Got that?” Alexandro hung up.
Liz looked at the tech. He pointed at the two numbers on his screen. The first one, Liz recognized as Alexandro’s. The second number she didn’t know, but the tech already busy to find out who it belonged to.
Liz asked him to play back the conversation from the beginning.
“You know who this is?” she heard.
“Yes.”
“I need to know if there’s anything I have to worry about tomorrow. I don’t want a repeat of Virginia.”
Alexandro seemed to be confident the man on the other end of his phone would have the assets to know about FBI operations. She wondered how any federal agency would have learned about the exchange. They had told no one. Only the members of the team knew that Alexandro’s arms shipment was in play. No one else, not even homeland security.
The IT tech handed her a piece of paper. It contained a name written on it.
“Are you sure?”
“No doubt. It’s a private number. It’s not listed in any directory.”
“Holy shit,” Liz exclaimed. She hurriedly exited and deliberately walked slowly to the director’s office. Her mind raced at the implications of what she now must tell the director. In the vernacular, the shit was about to hit the fan. The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to come together in her mind. She now understood how the arms dealer knew when and where the FBI agents would be operating. When she shared the information with the FBI director she would be handing him a nuclear weapon set for immediate detonation.
46
Washington, D.C.
“No. This can’t be.” The director slowly rose from his desk. He walked over to the window that looked out on the city. “I’ve known Rose for over twenty-five years. He’s the deputy director, for Christ’s sake.”
Liz didn’t say anything as she allowed the director to absorb the devastating news she just delivered. On the way to this office, she’d formulated what she thought would be the next steps in this disastrous sequence, and now patiently waited for the director to come to a decision.
“I must have more evidence. We can’t go accusing him on what we have. It’s too spotty and could be interpreted in different ways by a lawyer.” The director reseated himself. “We audit all high-level employees, and nothing’s ever shown up on him. If he’s guilty, he’s done a damn good job of covering his ass.”
“I submit we can’t wait. Lives are on the line and he is a traitor,” Liz said.
Liz’s phone buzzed. She looked at the ID and saw who it came from.
“It’s Matt,” she told the director.
“Take it. Tell him about this.”
When she answered, Matt skipped the preamble. “Liz, I need to know if there is a container arriving for Alexandro’s Import/Export business today.”
“Matt, hold up. We have something to tell you.”
She related the high points of the phone call between Karim and Alexandro and then the call from Alexandro to his source.
“Let me have the phone,” ordered the director. She handed it to him.
“Matt, what I’m about to tell you, if proven true, could be devastating to the agency. We have a mole at the FBI, and evidence suggests it’s Deputy Director Rose.”
“Oh, my god,” Matt exclaimed.
“We must get more evidence as soon as possible. That will be my first task.”
“May I suggest something?” Matt asked.
“Go.”
“Have a meeting with him and bring him in on the SOE operation you’re directing. Then include him in a conference call with me. I suggest you use a fake name when you call. If he learns I am still an active agent it might spook him that something is up. The call will be to alert me to go to Jacksonville based on a NSA intercept. My mission is to intercept the arms shipment being delivered by Alexandro.” Matt stopped.
“That might work, because it would force him to call and give that information to his contact,” the director said. “We could monitor it all and have proof positive of his betrayal. It might cause them to change the place for the exchange, but we are monitoring the phones.” He looked up at Liz. “Can you handle that, Liz?”
“No problem,” her reply. She knew what to do and how to do it.
“I’m still trying to get over the shock of the deputy director betraying his country,” said the director. “This may cost me my job, but I’ll carry out my duty. Expect a conference call within the hour. You’ll have the local SWAT team at your disposal.” He disconnected the call.
“Liz, I want the Inspector General in your office when you conduct the monitoring of the call. I want it ironclad. No mistakes.”
She nodded and headed for the door. The director followed her out and proceeded down the hall where he entered the deputy director’s office. Liz suddenly remembered to get the information Matt requested. In ten minutes she called Matt with his answer.
“There’s a container scheduled to arrive in Savannah at noon today for Alexandro’s business.”
47
Savannah, Georgia
Matt sat back down at the breakfast table with Bridget, Scott and Gerti. He could tell that Bridget suspected something had happened. He didn’t understand how she did it, but she possessed an uncanny knack of reading his expressions.
“What’s wrong?” Bridget asked.
He took his time before answering. “I don’t know exactly how to tell you all what has happened in the last few
minutes.” He took a moment to collect his thoughts, then spilled the beans, although he kept his personal feelings to himself. That bastard, the one who betrayed the operation in Roanoke, got his partner killed. And he would pay for that.
“Lastly, the container ship with a consignment for Alexandro’s company will arrive at noon. We must be at the port to observe. I want to have eyes on that thing every minute,” Matt said.
“How are we going to do that?” Gerti asked.
“I think we split up. Matt and I have a car and we can get inside the port with his creds,” Bridget said. “You two rent a car and you can be outside the port area to give us the ability to follow the container in case we get hung up for some reason inside. We’ll be able to stay in cell contact throughout.”
“By the way, Gerti had some of her firm’s local contacts deliver two Glocks for us,” Scott said. “We aren’t going to be around these guys without some hardware.”
“I don’t want us getting into a gunfight,” Matt said. “I plan on letting the FBI SWAT team take them down. So no heroics.”
All nodded agreement before Scott and Gerti left to rent a car.
“So the mole is the deputy director? Isn’t he the one who reamed your ass for the Roanoke event? Are you secretly gloating?”
“I don’t gloat. I’m having an emotional train ride that puts me somewhere between happiness and glee.” He stood up and headed for the exit as Bridget’s face broke into a wide smile.
She grabbed his hand to slow him down, pulled him close and gave him a hug.
“What?” Matt said. He pushed her back to full arm’s length and looked at her. Then he pulled her close and captured her lips in a searing kiss.
48
Washington, D.C.
FBI Headquarters
Liz waited in the monitoring office. The room’s dimensions seemed quite small with only two desks and room for a few people to stand. The Inspector General sat at the empty desk. The setup here didn’t compare to the elaborate intercept point like those at NSA, but functioned satisfactorily for the small operation she planned on conducting.
She counted the minutes until an hour passed. Hopefully the director had completed the call to Matt with the deputy director on the line. Another ten minutes passed before she saw the IT man’s hand go in the air.
This time he put it on a speaker he had connected so the IG could hear every word from Deputy Director Rose's telephone line. They didn't have long to wait before the suspect made a call.
"I've got an update,” Rose said. “The FBI has learned by some intercept that the exchange will take place in the Jacksonville area. They’ll be ready for you tomorrow. I don’t know who was dumb enough to use a cell and talk about it, but that’s all I have. Send my money to the usual.” The deputy director hung up.
Liz looked at the IG. “Is that enough?” she asked.
“I’d say it’s a slam dunk. Good work, Agent Garcia.” He reached over and shook her hand.
* * *
Mike Alexandro placed the phone back in his jean’s pocket. He outfitted himself to look like a worker at the port. A blue cotton shirt, and a baseball cap with the Georgia bulldog logo sat on his head.
I definitely need to get out of here. Someone is closing in on me.
He felt it, but didn’t know who, but he did know for certain it was time to disappear. The only catch entailed the arms shipment. He had to make delivery on that, or his uncle would certainly take some type of disciplinary action against him before he could return to Russia. He knew, without a doubt, the new security man could do his uncle’s bidding in that area.
While scouting for the exchange point near Jacksonville, he’d also reconnoitered a back-up location. That would now have to be the place for the exchange since the FBI would be in Florida. St. Mary’s offered an alternate location, a small picturesque town on the Florida/Georgia border just off I-95. One more call to complete this change.
“Hello, Karim. I have a new location for the exchange, as the FBI is now alerted to the Jacksonville meet for tomorrow.” He then gave him the exact street address where the exchange would now take place. Mike saw no reason to bring up the fact one of Karim’s men must have blown the location on some phone call. He would never see the bastard again after tomorrow.
Before heading to the port, he took a minute to transfer the usual fee to Deputy Director Rose to ensure there would be no loose ends when he departed. His suitcases were packed and in his car. Now he needed to accomplish his last task before leaving. He removed the icon from the security case by inserting a small key into a lock on the underside of the fireplace mantel. This released the bolts and he used another key to open the glass case. He wrapped it up and placed his precious icon in his waiting backpack and then he headed down to the basement for his new Hummer. He placed the backpack on the passenger seat and drove toward the port authority area. The vehicle would get him to the airport after everything concluded and he’d be on his way to Russia, never again to return to the USA. He would be the head of a major family in short order.
49
Savannah, Georgia
Matt drove the FBI car to the port. He didn’t speak to Bridget. He couldn’t. His emotions were running wild. What the hell had he done, grabbing and kissing her? Sure he wanted to, but he lost control and acted on impulse. Now, he didn’t know what to do. They were partners in this new venture with the SOE operation. He’d determined to keep his growing feelings for her in check. In that, he certainly had failed.
“Matt, talk to me.” Bridget let out a loud huff. “We’re adults. We can handle this. Look at all the things we’ve weathered. Remember this is not our first rodeo. We let it happen in Washington after the operation in Saudi. Come on, we know what we’re doing.”
She’s right. What the hell’s he thinking? He knew deep in his soul that he fostered deep and as well as lustful feelings for this beautiful woman. But how to make it work out completely evaded him.
“I know,” he said. His phone rang and interrupted any further discussion.
“Hello, Matt. We have the goods on Rose,” Liz said as soon as he answered. “Do you want me to get the SWAT team moving to the port?”
He looked over to Bridget, who heard the conversation on speaker. She gave a negative shake of her head.
“I don’t think so just yet. We’re almost there and we have no idea what we’ll find. We may only see a truck leaving to go to a predetermined location. If so, we’ll follow and then most likely we’ll need support to take action when the goods are transferred. Let’s have them on immediate standby so they can respond in a few minutes,” Matt said.
“Will do.” Liz hung up.
They arrived at the gate to the port authority. Matt showed the guard his FBI credentials and said they were there to become familiar with the port since he’d just arrived in Savannah. He requested to visit the public information office and the guard gave him directions.
After visiting for a few minutes with the PIO, they returned to their car and drove around the port area, a large and spread out facility. This port had been consistently ranked between the second or third busiest container port in the United States with San Francisco being the first. Thousands of containers were offloaded and on-loaded to and from oceangoing ships every day. The PIO gave them the location of the ship containing the goods for Alexandro’s business.
“Let’s stake out the ship and wait for the truck. It will be coming to take delivery of the goods when they are offloaded,” Matt suggested.
“Agreed,” Bridget said. She now was all business and focused on the job and he needed to do the same.
Matt realized that there’s no rush. Things at the port didn’t operate at a fast pace. There would be a considerable time lag from when the ship arrived and the offloading to a truck. They waited in silence. Two hours passed. Matt didn’t dare speak, as his mind still lingered on the kiss and what it might mean for their future.
* * *
Mike Alexan
dro arrived at the port entrance after parking his car a half mile away and then he walked to the gate. A guard passed him through with the fake ID he carried. He looked at his watch. Two o’clock. The shipment should be offloaded shortly and would soon be on the truck he arranged for its transport. The security man from Russia would provide the initial protection.
The Russian would ride with the driver to whom Mike had provided the rendezvous point where he would meet them. Mike’s presence at the port wasn’t required, but he wanted to observe everything about his last operation in America. Nothing could go wrong. He needed his uncle to know he had succeeded and would supposedly be coming home to talk about his future and perhaps the future of their worldwide operations.
It took him a few minutes to find the ship, and he saw the truck he previously hired being loaded with a container. He relaxed a little and felt relieved to see this happening. All appeared in order, and he would now leave to meet the driver and his new security man at the designated time and place. With everything on track, he turned and headed back to his car.
As he moved, a parked black sedan with government plates caught his eye.
What the hell?
His source failed him. Time to get out of the port.
The Feds were here.